The present invention relates to reusable luggage tags.
Travelers are encouraged to tag their suitcases and other luggage to assist in owner identification. Many travelers use permanent tags with personal information printed or hand written. Some bags are equipped with viewing compartments configured to receive a conventional business card carrying the same information. Virtually all airlines request travelers to mark their bags. Most airlines will even provide travelers with disposable tags on which the traveler can provide personal identification and contact information if the traveler's bags do not include their own tags.
One major drawback of such tags is that they are not integrated into airline baggage handling/management systems, which utilize special, machine readable (optically scanned) disposable tags applied by the airlines to each piece of baggage given over to the airline to transport.
Another major drawback is that the machine readable disposable tags applied by the airlines are not reusable. Discarded machine readable luggage tags create over a million pounds of waste per year.
It would be beneficial to provide a permanent luggage tag that could be used repeatedly by travelers and be capable of integration into carriers' baggage handling/management systems for simultaneous reuse by one or more carriers.